and relief pitcher Blake Hawksworth (traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers). Additionally, during the offseason the team announced that ace pitcher Adam Wainwright would miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. Notable offseason additions included shortstop Ryan Theriot, outfielder Lance Berkman, catcher Gerald Laird, and infielder Nick Punto. In late April, after a number of blown saves, the Cardinals removed pitcher Ryan Franklin from the closer role, and released him on June 29. On July 27, the Cardinals sent outfielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P. J. Walters to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitchers Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepczynski, and Octavio Dotel, and outfielder Corey Patterson. They then acquired Rafael Furcal from the Dodgers in exchange for Alex Castellanos, a minor-league outfielder. On August 11, the team signed free agent pitcher Arthur Rhodes, who had been released by the Texas Rangers days earlier. The Cardinals spent much of the early part of the 2011 season in first place in the NL Central standings but dropped to second place for good on July 27. On August 25, the team trailed the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild card standings by games. The Cardinals amassed a 21–9 record from August 26 to September 27, while the Braves were 10–19 over that same interval. Meanwhile, on September 23, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the NL Central division title. On September 28, with the Cardinals and Braves tied atop the Wild Card standings on the last day of the regular season, the Cardinals routed the Houston Astros 8–0 in Houston, while the Braves lost at home to the Philadelphia Phillies 4–3 in 13 innings, securing the Cardinals' second wild card postseason berth in franchise history. St. Louis finished with a record of 90–72, 6 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central but one ahead of the Braves in the Wild Card. They defeated the overall #1 seed Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series 3 games to 2, and then defeated the second-seeded Milwaukee Brewers (who were the first team in history to reach both NLCS and ALCS and the team the Cardinals faced in the 1982 World Series) in six games in the National League Championship Series. Summary †: Postponed from October 26 due to rain Game summaries Game 1 Aces were on the mound for Game 1 as C. J. Wilson faced Chris